


Autumn's Twilight

by anaraine



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: F/M, mild bloodplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27174976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaraine/pseuds/anaraine
Summary: The veil between worlds was so thin on Samhain that Sarah could step through to the Labyrinth by accident.
Relationships: Jareth/Sarah Williams
Comments: 19
Kudos: 50
Collections: Shipoween 2020 - The Halloween Ship Exchange!





	Autumn's Twilight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syksy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syksy/gifts).



The bonfire was nearly out, little more than glowing embers and whisper thin curls of woodsmoke in the late night air. The clearing was quiet with the low murmurs of those packing away the last of the tables and decorations for Samhain, their voices heavy with a pleased fatigue of a job well done.

Sarah packed the last of the candle stubs into a metal box and closed the lid.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Ellis asked. "Orla and I could stick around, if you'd rather."

"I'm fine," Sarah said. Her smile was tired but honest. "I live barely ten minutes from here. You've still got an hour drive home."

Ellis didn't look convinced. He was a good friend.

"I'm just making sure that the bonfire is completely out. I'll be out of here in fifteen minutes, tops."

"You're such a worrywart," Orla said, nudging Ellis with her shoulder as she took the box of candles and balanced it on her hip. "Sarah will be fine! Who's going to be out here this late except for us?"

"Creepers," Ellis said quickly.

"If there are any creepers, they'll meet more than their match in Sarah," Orla said firmly. "She's got a shovel and she's not afraid to use it."

"Go home, you two," Sarah said fondly. "I'll be fine."

Orla nodded and hooked her arm around Ellis', pulling him away. "Good night!"

Ellis sighed, but waved a goodbye as his fiancée steered him in the direction of the gravel parking area. "Blessed Samhain, Sarah."

"Blessed Samhain," she called back. "I'll see you on Monday!"

She waited until they'd crested the little hill before returning to the bonfire. It was so low that it barely hissed as she poured water over the embers.

"The woman who would be queen stooped over a fire like a common scullery maid."

Sarah jerked up, all weary exhaustion gone beneath a flood of adrenaline. She knew that voice, that thin edge between bland insouciance and biting cruelty. She hadn't expected it here, after so many years, but perhaps she should have. The veil between worlds was so thin on Samhain she could step through to the Labyrinth by accident.

"Jareth," Sarah said evenly, her eyes flicking across the clearing in search of him.

"Best not call me by name this evening, precious thing," he said, unfolding himself from the shadows of the copse not ten feet away. "You might not like what I'll do."

"I don't like a lot of things you do," Sarah said, even as she made note of the warning.

He looked different than usual — _wilder_. Gone were the cloaks spun from night or the jackets dotted with stars. He stood in a simple black shirt, the laces loose and open, paired with riding breeches in slate grey. He stalked toward her on bare feet, his eyes glittering with hunger in the moonlight.

"Sarah," he chided, "So rude to your guests?"

"The party's over," Sarah said, refusing to step back as he came closer. "And I don't remember inviting you."

"Ah, but it was an invitation to all," Jareth reminded her, as if Sarah hadn't been on the planning committee. "Surely you noticed just who you were dancing with this evening."

She had danced with a rather nice fae, actually, with iridescent wings and patches of metallic scales beneath his golden eyes. He hadn't asked for her name, nor had she offered it, but he had been a welcome companion for the evening. She hadn't expected—

"Are you _jealous_?" Sarah asked incredulously, her shock raising her voice. "Jareth—"

He closed the distance between them, hands tight on her arms as her back hit a wall that had not been there seconds ago. A quick glance at the sky suggested they had stepped through the veil, the colors too eerie and strange to belong to anything but the land just outside the Labyrinth.

"I told you not call me by name, precious," Jareth said, and this close Sarah could see the mismatched wideness of his pupils.

"Goblin King, then," Sarah corrected, swallowing her fear as his hands tensed around her arms. "You can't tell me you're jealous of a simple dance."

"A dance?" He laughed, but there was something brittle in the sound. "There is nothing simple about a dance with the fae when the veil grows thin and the dead sing in tune with the living."

"It didn't mean anything to me," Sarah said defiantly. He had been a pleasant diversion and a divine dancer, nothing more.

"Very little means anything to you," Jareth said darkly. "I offered you everything—"

"In exchange for my brother!"

"—and you cast me aside to dance with someone so weak he couldn't even feel the shield your heart formed to protect your guests—"

"I— my what?"

"You impossible creature!"

Jareth slanted his mouth over hers, and despite herself, Sarah kissed him back. Their wills clashed with the flutter of every heartbeat, the cage of his arms keeping her trapped against the outer wall of the Labyrinth as she dug her fingers into his hair. He kissed like a wild thing, demanding and hungry, and Sarah could do nothing but meet him to avoid defeat.

Her breath grew ragged in her chest as time slowed to a crawl, eyes clenched shut against the onslaught of pleasure that ripped down her spine. Jareth's sharp teeth nicked her tongue as she tilted her head and their kiss deepened with the taste of blood and and the sharp tang of iron.

Jareth pulled back with a hiss and looked at her approvingly. "Vicious creature," he murmured, licking the blood from his lips to show how it had branded his mouth.

"Oh," Sarah said, eyes wide as she reached for the angry burn, her fingers gentle against the curve of his wicked smile. "I didn't know—"

"Would you have done any different?" Jareth asked, lazy satisfaction oozing from his smile.

Sarah's lips firmed into a thin line, and she shook her head.

"Like I thought," Jareth said, his eyes hooded and possessive. "I will wear your marks in triumph, my future queen."

"Now wait a minute—" Sarah protested, and the fire of her anger that had dimmed with the realization of how her blood had hurt him roared back into being.

"Precious thing," Jareth murmured, "The night is ending."

"You can reorder time," Sarah bit back, unwilling to leave like _this_ , with him thinking that this was some sort of win on his part when _she_ was the one—

She blinked and she was standing next to the burnt out remains of the bonfire, the thin light of dawn peeking over the horizon. A faint hum of magic still lingered, but it was not nearly enough to step back into the Underground without the help of a mirror.

A high-pitched noise escaped her throat like steam from a tea-kettle, though she stubbornly resisted the urge to stamp her foot in frustration. "That's not fair!"


End file.
